Development at Sembawang expected to enjoy substantial capital appreciation?

Development at Sembawang expected to enjoy substantial capital appreciation?

SINGAPORE - Amidst an uptick in property transaction volumes, developer Bukit Sembawang Estates has sold at least 18 units at its Watercove development. Watercove comprises 80 freehold strata terrace units along Wak Hassan Drive in Sembawang, and will be officially launched this Saturday.

Transport links in the Sembawang area are expected to improve in the coming years. The new Canberra MRT station along Canberra Link, located between Sembawang and Yishun MRT stations, will be completed in 2019, while the upcoming North-South Expressway is expected to provide residents a direction connection to the city when it is completed in 2020. This will benefit near by executive condo residents such as those from Parc Life EC. Upcoming executive condo launches include Anchorvale Lane EC while existing ones include Parc Life EC, Signature at Yishun, Brownstone EC, Visionaire EC, Inz Residence, The Criterion EC and Northwave EC, The Terrace EC, The Vales EC, Hundred Palms Residences EC, Sol Acres EC and The Bellewoods EC.

According to caveats filed with the Urban Redevelopment Authority, 18 units were sold from prices of about S$2.3 million, translating to an average per square foot price of about S$738.

The seafront project includes a mix of terrace, corner terrace and semi-detached units between 3,200 and 4,400 square feet.

"Watercove is sited in a locale with tremendous growth potential which has yet to be reflected in housing prices," said Ms Margaret Thean, Edmund Tie and Company's executive director of residential.

"In time to come, we expect the development to fetch excellent rental yields and enjoy substantial capital appreciation," she added.

The developer will also offer shuttle bus services for the first year from Sembawang MRT station, according to the press release.

"The completion of Watercove is timed with the completion of these transport connections," according to the project's joint marketing agents, CBRE and Edmund Tie and company in a press release.

Bukit Sembawang Estates, the developer, has seen its shares soar this year because of its substantial landbank.

In March this year, a DBS report noted that the rubber company turned property developer has one of the largest tracts of freehold land, which used to be land for its rubber plantation.

About 75 per cent of its more than 2.8 million sq ft landbank is undeveloped and zoned for landed properties, largely in Ang Mo Kio, Seletar and Sembawang, wrote DBS analysts Derek Tan and Rachel Tan in the report. This would make the company an attractive takeover target amid limited land supply, with developers hungry for land.